1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to microtagging and, more specifically, to microtagging identification technology in conjunction with vehicle paint to assist in tracking vehicles used in criminal activity.
The microtag particles mixed in vehicle paint are essentially unique alphanumeric code sequences in a microscopic format. Sequences are certified and registered on a database with the department of motor vehicles and law enforcement.
When the microtagged particles are recovered from a crime scene, law enforcement uses a simple UV light test and a magnification instrument to identify the unique code sequence within the microtag particles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are other tagging methods designed for similar purposes. Typical of these is U.S. Pat. No. 3,772,200 issued to Livesay on Nov. 13, 1973.
Another patent was issued to Ryan et al. on Dec. 26, 1978 as U.S. Pat. No. 4,131,064. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,799 was issued to Loving on May 2, 1995 and still yet another was issued on Oct. 30, 2001 to Brogger et al. as U.S. Pat. No. 6,309,690.
Another patent was issued to Nelson et al. on Aug. 13, 2002 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,432,715. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 6,692,031 was issued to McGrew on Feb. 17, 2004. Another was issued to Tsai on Mar. 23, 2004 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,708,618 and still yet another was issued on Jun. 6, 2006 to Safian as U.S. Pat. No. 7,055,691.
Another patent was issued to Steenblik et al. on Oct. 30, 2007 as U.S. Pat. No. 7,288,320. A U.K. Patent No. 1,487,967 was issued to Livesay on Oct. 5, 1977. An international application was published to Drukier on Aug. 26, 1999 as International Patent Publication No. WO99/42613 and still yet another was published on Aug. 16, 2007 to Natan et al. as International Patent Publication No. WO2007/092941.